Neither of my parents graduated from college, so when I got to campus as a freshman, I’ll admit I was a little overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to choose my classes or find the right classrooms. I didn’t even know how to furnish my own dorm room. In fact, when I moved in, I realized that I hadn’t even packed the right size sheets for my bed. Mine were way too short. So that first night, I slept with my legs sticking out past the end of the sheets, rubbing up against one of those old plastic mattresses… and I ended up sleeping that way for my entire freshman year.

But here’s the thing – I may not have had the right sheets, but I learned pretty quickly that I had what it took to succeed in college.

Sure, there were moments when I had doubts. At first, I even worried that maybe I just wasn’t as smart as some of my classmates. But soon enough I realized that that was all in my head. I was just as smart as everyone else – and I had just as much to contribute – I just had to have the confidence to believe in myself and the determination to work hard and ask for help when I needed it.

So that’s my message to all of you – no matter where you come from or how much money your family has, I want you to know that you can succeed in college, and get your degree, and then go on to build an incredible life for yourself.

That’s been my life story, and my husband’s as well. And if you’re willing to put in the time and the effort, I want you to know that it can be your story too.

So I want to wish you the best of luck in the years ahead… I know you can do it.

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to students at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., Feb. 5, during a workshop to help students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Mrs. Obama told students that filling out the FAFSA is a pivotal step toward finishing their education beyond high school.

First Lady Michelle Obama poses with parents and students after she delivers remarks at a Free Application for Federal Student Aid Workshop at T.C. Williams High School-King Street Campus in Alexandria, Virginia

She discovered only 1% of homosexuals are openly gay, and the reason for this is very simple.

Vigilante gangs are on the lookout for targets and trying to infiltrate gay chat rooms or find gay men on social media.

Once found, the men are lured to a meeting place and captured like animals before they are beaten and filmed. It is common for them to have urine poured on them and to be left with permanent injuries.

…

But most of the gangs believe they are doing “good work”, link gay men with paedophiles, and see no shame in what they are doing.

This is the reality facing gay Russians. As we transition into the winter Olympics in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, the games will be held in a country whose president says the country must cleanse itself of homosexuality, even as he makes assurances that gays will be welcome for the Olympics.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defends Russia’s anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and says Russia needs to “cleanse” itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate.

The Games will be held in a country where its legislature passed anti-gay laws in 2013 criminalizing disseminating gay “propaganda” to minors, out of a fear that doing so will make those children gay, with, of course, right wing US pundits applauding and lauding countries like Russia.